“Very,” returned Nick. “It was an affection of the heart.”
“Heart failure! Well, I always thought my poor friend has something of the appearance of one who might be carried off in that way. Can I see him?”
“I am afraid not, professor. The coroner has his remains in charge. When did you see Mr. Anderton last?”
“About a week ago. We met at the home of a friend of both of us. I had never been in this house. You know, he only lately returned from China. He had gathered up there a mass of valuable information for this government, I understand.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” said Nick shortly.
“I have heard so. In fact, Mr. Anderton made no secret of it. He even told me where he kept the data he had gathered, and offered to let me look it over. Part of my reason for being in this neighborhood now was to see Mr. Anderton and ask him to show me those records.”
“It is eleven o’clock at night,” the detective reminded him. “Isn’t it rather late to come on such a mission?”
“It was the habit of Mr. Anderton to work at night, and I have often met him away from home at a later hour than this. Students pay little attention to the time of day or night when they are interested in any subject they may be discussing. Did Mr. Anderton leave those papers where they could be seen, I wonder. They deal only with scientific subjects, of course.”
“Did I not understand you to say that they were intended for the government?” asked Nick. “It would hardly be proper for anybody else to see them, I should say.”
“They were to be sent to the Smithsonian Institute, I believe. But I was told by Mr. Anderton himself that there was nothing secret about them. He intended the facts he had gathered to be given to the world at large. My understanding was that they were to be published simultaneously with their being sent to Washington.[Pg 15]”